The Michigan Tech – Tech Forward Initiative on Sustainability & Resilience (ISR) invites applications for educational innovation projects that increase student exposure to sustainability and resilience in formal coursework. The ISR seeks to incentivize the creation of new sustainability curricula through new and existing coursework so that more students across Michigan Tech learn about sustainability, resilience, and the connection of each to their domain expertise.
Applications for Educational Innovation support will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Proposals submitted before December 1 will be reviewed no later than December 10. We anticipate offering another opportunity in the spring of 2023, contingent on funding availability.
Proposals may include support for hourly student work, summer salary, or materials/supplies to develop new courses, revamp existing courses, or host workshops for educating faculty and/or staff on sustainability education. Proposals may also include funds to support or incentivize participation from students, faculty, and/or staff and/or materials or supplies for coursework innovation. Faculty, graduate students, and staff are all eligible to apply. Applications can be submitted by individuals or teams; graduate students are encouraged to collaborate with a faculty member to submit an application.
Individual awards will be made for up to $5,000; we anticipate that most awards will be in the range of $3,000-$5,000 but encourage budgets that meet the project needs. Potential applicants are encouraged to reach out with questions about their potential budget.
Submitted proposals should be no more than two pages. Each proposal should include:
- A narrative description of the proposed educational innovation.
- This description should include at least one stand alone paragraph that clearly describes how this educational innovation aligns with the broader goal of ensuring all students at Michigan Tech are exposed to sustainability and resilience through the curricula, including how many students are likely to be impacted by this innovation and how this innovation will be maintained in the curriculum.
- A detailed budget and a proposed project timeline. Project work should take place no later than fall 2023; the implementation timeline is flexible but should be described in the proposal.
- A list of deliverables to be provided to ISR at the end of the project period, such as a completed syllabus, a new course proposal prepared for submission, a workshop report, etc., to be determined and described by the applicant.
If you have any questions about a potential project proposal, please reach out to ask!
The ISR Working Group (ISR WG) will review applications and contact applicants regarding decisions. For questions and to submit your application, please email Robert Handler, rhandler@mtu.edu.